paper stars
by oswiins
Summary: When looking for someone in the Muggle Post office, Daco finds himself confronting with Luna Lovegood, and she spills ink on him.


**A/N: Written for:**

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)**

 **The After School Club: Animal Crossing**

 **Setting: Post Office**  
 **Item: Tree**  
 **Quote: "If you ever need anything, anything at all, and I can do it without moving from this spot, just ask."**

 **Writing Club:**  
 **Book Club: The Davinci Code - Jaques Saunière: (object) masterpiece (word) decipher (word) bloodline  
** **Showtime: Act One - Non-Stop: (era) Post-war (Between years '81-86 or '98-'03)**  
 **Days of the Month: Pardon Day - Write about forgiveness**  
 **Television Show of the Month: Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie - (character) Luna Lovegood (dialogue) "Resistance is futile." (object) computer**

 **Dueling Club:**

 **Pine Wand**  
 **Word: Pocket**  
 **Dialogue: "It's gonna be different this time."**  
 **Quote: "In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart."**

* * *

Draco never, in one moment of his life thought that he would be stepping into a place so muggle-ish like the Post Office. It was simply absurd. And yet he seemed to be doing it, stepping one long leg over the front door.

It was an ordinary door, painted white, with the words 'Post Office' in the front.

Draco cursed himself as he thought about how his father would berate him if he knew where he was. He shook his head so that a few strands of platinum blond hair fell down and obstructed his view. He lifted a finger to brush them away.

After passing a small counter with a muggle woman behind it speaking loudly into some black tube he came to what he guessed was the office.

It was large but the desks were few. Each of them were white and had walls so that he couldn't see who was behind them. And all around the office were kinds of shrill 'tap-tap' sounds.

He realized that he had to go around to room to find Nott, Draco rolled his eyes and sighed at prospect but still walked along the rows and rows of desks.

There were paper everywhere. On the desks, in the boxes that muggles seemed to stack in every one of their desks, and some pieces of paper fell from the desks on the floor. While Draco neared the third desk, one dropped from what seemed to be nowhere in front of his feet.

He hadn't even had the time to realize that this had happened when someone stooped down to pick it up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," said a dreamy voice that was very familiar.

She was about a head shorter than him, with dirty blonde hair that hang like a rug from her head. Her blue eyes wide, not seeming to find their focus. That pair of eyes were much too familiar to him. He had seen them reflecting the battle sometimes when the lights in his bedroom would dim.

"Lovegood?" asked Draco, shock laced in his voice.

Luna cocked her head to one side and continued to stare at him.

Draco could see that she was trying to pass off as a muggle, but it didn't work. Her radish earrings were still in place, along with her corkscrew necklace. She had a white shirt on that looked like it had been stuffed unceremoniously into a very tight place and left there for a few days. there were even a few red stains on the shirt which Draco wished was ketchup. And she had on a pair of trousers that were a multitude of colours rolled into one. She looked simply comical.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked incredulously, seeing that the Ravenclaw would rather stare at him than speak.

Luna opened her mouth to respond but another voice cut through her. "Draco! How good to see you!"

Draco raised his head to see a pair of hands waving at him from behind a desk. He looked down at Luna, still waiting for his answer. But he never got it.

Instead of answering him, Luna said, "Well, I better be off then. Nice seeing you Draco, it's been a while."

Draco watched as she walked away. Then as if snapping out of a trance, he walked towards the one who called him.

"Hello, Nott." He greeted, nodding his head slightly as he neared the desk at the far side of the room.

Theodore Nott had been expecting a more cheery welcome so of course the two words that came from his housemate didn't exactly warm his heart, and he showed it on his small mousy face.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he asked, squinting up at the youngest of the Malfoy family. "No, 'how are you doing?' 'what's life now for you after the war?' 'everything all right with the family?'. I've been working my arse out to try and build your father this masterpiece and you don't want to ask me about how I'm doing?"

Draco scowled. "Just get on with it, will you?" he asked. with his teeth gritted.

"Alright, alright," chuckled Theodore, turning to the computer screen in front of him. "Keep your hair on."

Draco had to bend down to look at what was on the computer seen, and the results was him looking like Quasimodo.

"How did you manage to get that?" asked Draco, peering at the bright screen. On it was a 3D version of a ministry time-turner. Needless to say that it wasn't a hundred percent accurate, but good enough to work with.

"Your family may not approve of it, but sometimes muggles come up with a lot of good stuff, and clever wizards, such as myself know how to use their technology to their advantage. A bought this flash drive from a wizard a few months back and it is doing great things for me," said Theodore, a little cockily.

Draco didn't want to ask what a flash drive was nor how he could see the picture on a black box.

"And how is the project going?" he asked.

"I might need a few more months at this but I think I will be able to crack the code. See the words on the time-turner?"

Draco nodded.

"It's a code. And if I can decipher the code encrypted I can figure out the spell that makes the time-turner works, and maybe get it to work in years, not mere hours or minutes." explained Theodore.

He didn't very much want to show it, but Draco was impressed.

"Good," he said curtly. "I just needed to come in and see if you had a plan yet, and seeing that you do, I better go back to father and tell him."

He turned around and started to walk off, with Theodore saying behind him, "If you ever need anything, anything at all, and I can do it without moving from this spot, just ask."

A few steps towards the exit and Draco looked back.

"Why in the name of Merlin are you working here?" he asked Theodore.

Theodore grinned and said, "Well, I'm here as the magical relations. You know, any letter that's meant for wizards that end up here will go to them. But we hardly get any letters anyway. And I need to get my hands on these things," he pointed to the computer in front of him "And I could hardly go and work at the muggle relations office, could I?" he laughed and Draco forced out a cold laugh. Then he turned away and strutted out of the post office.

The first thing he saw was her blonde hair, and then Luna Lovegood decided to spill all the things in her arm on him. Which included paper clips, pencils, ink and quills.

"Argh!" he shouted, trying to dab the spilled ink from his suit. Since he was in the entrance of a muggle inhabited building, he could not get his wand out to clean up the mess she made.

"I am so sorry," said Luna, standing straight again with her many objects already disappearing into her bag. "Let's get you to someplace quiet to clean you up."

Draco scowled and was about to say that he wasn't going anywhere with her when she said with the most serious voice he had ever heard her use, "Resistance is futile. Now come along now, I know a park down the rode."

Draco decided to just shrug it off and followed her down the road.

Luna was humming softly as she walked, it was alright at first, but gradually it made Draco a little cry so instead of shouting at her which he sincerely wished to do, he decided to made conversation.

"What were you doing in the post office?" he drawled.

"Oh," said Luna happily. "I was just sending a letter to Mrs. Figgs, she's a squib you know, and she just taught me all about how the postal service works and I'm trying to impress her by sending her one."

"Well that's pathetic," murmured Draco. Luna didn't seem to hear him, as she walked on, hands in her trouser pockets.

"What have you been doing lately? How is your life?" asked Luna.

Draco sighed, looking at the ground beneath his feet. "Well, nothing's changed really, my father's still the same. No matter how many times I try to make him understand, he still hates Astoria and her family's curse. 'Bloodlines important, Draco, you don't want to marry someone who would cause damage to our family.'"

Luna listened, now with pity in her eyes.

Draco hated being stared like that, as if he needed pity. Not from Luna Lovegood of all people.

"Oh, look, no one's there! See, by the tree, no muggles can see us." said Luna, pointed to across the street where a huge oak was standing, casting a shadow huge enough to hide them from muggle sight.

Draco nodded and the two of them crossed the street.

As soon as they reached the tree, Luna took out her wand and in one sweeping movement made the stain disappear. His suit was as good as new.

"Thank you," said Draco hurriedly, and was about to dissaparate when Luna's voice made him stop.

"I don't think that you're going to be like your father," said Luna, matter-of-factly.

Draco spun around on his heels, not believing what he had just heard. "Excuse me? What?" He asked.

"I don't think that you're going to be like your father," she repeated, a wide smile on her face, "It's going to be different this time."

Draco nodded slowly.

Then he sucked in a deep breath, as if it was costing him all the energy of the world, he said, "Will you forgive me, Luna? For how I behaved at school. I know I was a git, and I would be one to you."

Luna nodded. "Of course. But, do you forgive yourself?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't even understand how could you forgive me?"

"In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart." replied Luna. "Goodbye Draco, and good luck with your father." With a snap, she disappeared into thin air.


End file.
